Last night, a group of men attacked me and my boyfriend on Butler Street in Lawrenceville. After yelling, from across the street, "Faggot!" at us, I replied, "yes, we're faggots!" Immediately after, the group of men ran across the street and began hitting, kicking, and stomping me. The mark on my right cheek is a bootprint. Aaron threw himself on top of me to discourage them from continuing the assault, but they began kicking him in the head, as well.

To the women who saw the ordeal, wrote down their license plate number, and stayed to talk with the police, thank you.

Three of these men have been arrested since the assault. Aaron and I were in the hospital until almost 10 am so that the doctors could take MRI, CT scans, and x-rays to make sure there was no internal bleeding.

I don't ask you to cheer on my romantic and sexual lives. I do, however, expect people not to act violently against one another because they do not share tastes and preferences.

Watch a CBS Pittsburgh news report on the attack and interview with Stoviak, AFTER THE JUMP...

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Landry Jones spoke with Outsports reporter Cyd Zeigler at the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) Rookie Premiere. He discussed his Christian beliefs and the novel perspective that they shouldn't interfere with having a gay player on his team. Asked about how Christian and gay players would mesh on the field, Jones had this to say:

"There's not a conflict," Jones said. "People are people and God tells us to love everybody. And so that's what I do."

"Now, do I condone what they're doing? No, I don't think it's right," he continued.

"But, am I going to go out there and not talk to them? Am I going to go out there and be hateful and mean to them? I think that's ignorant. I think we respect and love everybody. But, there's also a moral standard there for me, and I'm going to take a stand on that. I don't think it's right, but it's their life and I'm not going to go up because someone is gay and be mean or hateful and say terrible things to them. I'm going to treat them like a human being."

Jones recalls other NFL players, the notorious Tim Tebow in particular, with his strong Christian background. During their interview, Zeigler noticed a Biblical passage from Philippians printed on Jones' hand. But Jones also respects the gay community, and gay players:

"It doesn't matter if you're gay or if you're straight," Jones said. "If you can play the game of football, you're going to be on a team and you're going to have a job. Just like if you're in a regular business setting. If you can do your job well, you can do your job. You can get paid and earn a living and provide for your family, whatever your family looks like."

If we're going to open sports for everyone, Jones' willingness to put his personal feelings aside and treat people equally is the kind of perspective we must be willing to hear. Just as we want men like Jones to accept us, we must accept them.

Kevin McClathy stepped down at CEO of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007, eleven years after the then-33 year old stepped in to take control of the baseball team.

In the five years since, McClatchy has done a lot of thinking and growing and today, in an interview with The New York Times' Frank Bruni, came out of the closet.

"I’ve got a birthday coming up where I’m turning old," the soon-to-be 50 year old told Bruni. "I’ve spent 30 years — or whatever the number
is specifically — not talking about my personal life, lying about my
personal life."

But McClatchy, heir to the McClatchy newspaper chain, says his announcement, a big one for the wide world of sports, where despite greater acceptance of LGBT culture as a whole not one major player has come out while still on the court, field or pitch, is about more than just private acceptance. He hopes to inspire a player to come out.

"Tens of thousands of people have played either professional minor league
baseball or major league baseball. Not one has come out and said that
they’re gay while they’re playing," he said. "You’re not going to solve any problem until you start a dialogue. And there’s no dialogue right now."

Chris Kluwe, the Minnesota Vikings football player who's also a vocal advocate for equality, said the biggest problem for an openly gay player wouldn't necessarily be homophobia, but narcissism: the fear from players that a gay teammate will ogle them in the locker room. "[But] that assumes that a gay person in the locker room is going to find you
attractive, which I think is pretty narcissistic,” said Kluwe. "Isn’t that the shallowest kind of thinking: that all of a
sudden if a gay guy comes out, he’s going be staring at you?"

As for McClatchy, he's happily in a committed relationship and just as invested in baseball as ever: "That passion is evident in his home, where one room is devoted entirely
to baseball memorabilia and the main area for watching television has
three large screens, lined up in a row, so that he can follow multiple
games at once."

Witness immunity sought for gay service members at "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" hearings. Alcee Hastings: "How can there be anything more important than a gay member of the
service having the right to testify before the Armed Services Committee
of the Congress that he is under the aegis of. But if they come and testify, that testimony could
be used against them under 'don't ask, don't tell.' In my judgment,
it's just a question of fairness."

Irish lawmakers open debate on gay rights bill: "Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said the bill would give gay couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples on questions of property ownership, inheritance, medical care and access to state benefits — and also the same right to go to court seeking financial support from higher-earning partners when relationships fail."

Elf with dynamite threat terrorizes mall in Atlanta: "When Caldwell, who was wearing an elf suit, reached the front of the line, 'he told Santa Claus that he had dynamite in his bag,' Morrow police Capt. James Callaway said. 'He said that two times to Santa Claus.'
Santa notified mall security and Morrow police quickly arrested the 5 feet tall, 108 pound Caldwell. The mall was evacuated and the bomb squad was called in to examine the packages."

Michigan bus driver accused of anti-gay harassment: "When I got off the bus, I stood up and was about to get off the bus, she was like, now you can get your gay self off my bus. Well, she said get your gay tail off my bus."

Bus driver who refused to respond to requests for help from gay beating victim Jayron Martin has been fired: "Langham Creek High School officials acknowledged that the day of the beating, Martin asked school leaders and his bus driver for help and protection.
A Cy Fair ISD spokeswoman said an assistant principal at Langham Creek is still under review.
At question -- did the assistant principal respond appropriately when an openly gay student asked for help before he was beaten by another student.
The district said the school bus driver has been fired. As for the assistant principal, a district spokeswoman said more details have come to light on how he responded, but those details are not being released now."